Serendipity and a KAL/CAL

I apologize for not finishing the yarn love challenge. In the last month, there have been two deaths in my family (well, one in my family, and a dear friend who is like family), so as you can imagine, my usual routine of posts and working has not been happening. I also attended Stitches West (more about that coming in another post!). I appreciate the comments and am so happy you all enjoyed the yarn love challenge posts, so thank you for reading and supporting!

I will share about my Stitches West fun soon, but I want to start it off by highlighting a charity organization I learned about while I was there, and explain why it seemed like serendipity to meet them at that exact moment. Before we moved to California, we lived in Ohio for 10 years and met our dearest friends (who also became my son’s godparents). They were older than us – old enough to be our parents, actually. We had many dinners at each other’s houses, and they were always there to support us and offer helpful advice when asked. But trouble waits for no one, and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about 4 years ago, then cancer, and her husband became her round the clock nursemaid for that time. She passed away the same day I was at Stitches West and stopped by a booth called Alice’s Embrace.

This charity organization was started in memory of their loved one who was plagued with Alzheimers, and ended up being taken too soon also. They immediately offered to send something to my friend when I told them my story. The charity is very straightforward and legitimate, which of course, is my ideal kind of charity organization. You pick one of their patterns, use appropriate yarn, do the knitting or crocheting (your choice), and then wash it and send it to them. They deliver bunches of items to institutions with Alzheimer’s patients, and do their best to give the patients the choice of what item they would like.

To me, this represents the best part of our community – creating something out of love, to offer softness and comfort to someone during a time of suffering. The item goes to the family when the person passes away. Although it is too late for my dear friend to enjoy a handmade piece, I decided to do some knitting for them anyway, in her honor. I also want to make a piece for her husband. The items need to be machine-washable, so the point is to create something usable, as well as soft and comforting, not necessarily expensive.

I invite any of you who are interested in doing charity crafting to join me in a knitalong (or crochetalong!), with the idea being that when we finish our pieces, we will send them to Alice’s Embrace. I am doing this piece, but feel free to browse their site and pick a shawl or a different pattern to best suit whatever yarn you are planning to use. Please keep in touch with me by posting in the Ravelry thread or tagging me on my social media:

I am grateful to have learned about this charity, and I not only want to bring attention to a good cause, but hopefully see them receive more donations as a result of spreading the word. I would be very grateful for anyone who wants to join me, and I will be posting weekly updates with my progress, and hope to see yours as well!

Oh Elizabeth… I have tears in my eyes. I am so sorry for the loss of your dear friend. She sounds like she was simply wonderful. Alzheimer’s is a dreadful disease.

I am flabbergasted by your blog post and cannot thank you enough for what you are doing and for helping spread the word about what we do. I don’t know which one of us you spoke with at STITCHES West, but it was either me (Alice’s Embrace founder), Mike (my hubby who completely loved my mom) or Betsy (Mom’s youngest child). We visited with hundreds of people in those four days and sadly so many of them have been touched by the disease. I will be sharing your posting on the Alice’s Embrace Facebook page in the next day or so.

Again, I’m very sorry for your loss and hope that all those special memories help you during this sad time. I’m sure her husband will love the gift you make for him.

Hi Diane, thank you so much! I think it was your husband I had the privilege of talking to. I hope at the next show, I can stop by Alice’s Embrace again, and hopefully meet YOU. 🙂 I am sorry for your loss as well – Alzheimers is such a horrible disease – I think the hardest part is the personality changes in the person. But I really appreciate your charity – knitwear is made to be comforting and soft, so what a great thing to gift Alzheimers patients (and families) with! I’m honored to contribute. ❤

Sorry for your losses. No one would chide you for not keeping up with a challenge under those circumstances. Looking forward to seeing a selection of charity knits well documented on the blog perhaps. In the UK there is a current craze to knit twiddle muffs for dementia patients.

Thank you! I will definitely post updates here! Knitting for these people seems like a great thing to do – Alzheimer’s isn’t really very treatable, and so keeping the person calm and comfortable is the best thing. And soft blankets and shawls do that for everyone. 🙂

sorry to hear about your friend’s passing. I cared for my aunt who had alzheimers and after she passed I knit a prayer blanket for myself out of yarn I found in her room. Thank you for the link to the Alice website. I have bookmarked it and will make some blankets for the care facility where my Aunt lived for the last 3 years of her life.

Wow, that is truly a loving thing you did for your aunt. Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s is a huge responsibility! Thank you for getting in touch, and please do post photos on my social media or Ravelry group – I’d love to see what you make. ❤